Meta has agreed to pay Texas $1.4 billion over the next five years to settle a February 2022 lawsuit that accused Facebook’s parent company of using facial-recognition technology and capturing other biometrics without users’ permission, which goes against state law.
Judge Brad Morin approved the settlement agreement on Tuesday to the acclaim of Texas officials. The settlement does not act as an admission of guilt on the part of Meta, which continues to maintain no wrongdoing. The $1.4 billion amount is the largest ever obtained by a single state and the largest privacy-related settlement obtained by a state attorney general.
“This historic settlement demonstrates our commitment to standing up to the world’s biggest technology companies and holding them accountable for breaking the law and violating Texans’ privacy rights,” Texas attorney general Ken Paxton said in a statement. “Any abuse of Texans’ sensitive data will be met with the full force of the law.”
In 2021, a $650 million settlement between Meta, formerly known as Facebook, and users in Illinois was one of the largest settlements for a privacy violation at the time.
Over two years ago, Texas alleged Meta had been scanning residents’ faces on photos uploaded to Facebook without informing them that it was doing so for more than a decade.
In 2011, Facebook automatically activated a feature known as tag suggestions to make it easier for people to tag friends and family in their photos on social media. However, the system collected users’ data without their knowledge. Bombarded with public scrutiny from courts and regulators, Meta discontinued the feature in 2021 and simultaneously announced that it deleted facial-recognition data belonging to more than 1 billion people.
The lawsuit is the first to be brought under the state’s biometric law, which protects Texans’ personal biometric data such as facial scans and fingerprints.
The 2009 law prohibits private entities from capturing, disclosing, or profiting from an individual’s biometric information without their informed consent. It also requires tech companies to store biometric identifiers for a limited amount of time.
“We are pleased to resolve this matter and look forward to exploring future opportunities to deepen our business investments in Texas, including potentially developing data centers,” a Meta spokesperson said after the judge approved the settlement.
The social-media company must pay Texas the first $500 million in about a month, followed by subsequent payments of $225 million each year from 2025 to 2028.